Improvement in cultivator s



UNITED STATES `vATENT y' OrrlcieC JAMES B. SKINNER, OF ROCKFORD,ILLINOIS.

IMPROVEMENT IN CULTIVATORS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 98,112, dated December21, 1869.

To a/ZZ whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMns B. SKINNER, of Rockford, in the county ofWinnebago and State of Illinois, have invented a new and usefulImprovement in Oultivators; and I do hereby declare that the followingis a full and exact description of the same, referencebeing had to theaccompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon.

fourth, in the construction of the frame; fth,

in the manner of attaching the shovel-standards to the beams; and,sixth, in the manner of attaching the braces to the standards.

It further consists, also, in certain details of construction, which, inconnection with the foregoing, will be fully described hereinafter.

In the drawings, Figure 1 represents a side elevation of my invention.Fig. 2 represents a plan view. Figs. 3 and 4 represent side'elevationsof a modiiication of the same, and

Figs. 5, 6, 7, and S, views of parts detached.

To enable others skilled in the artto which my invention appertains tomake and use the same, I will now proceed to describe fully itsconstruction and operation.

A A represent caster-wheels of the ordinary construction, having theyokes a a, with standards a. a.

B B represent cross-beams, which are provided at their ends withsockets, through which pass the standards c of the wheels A, as shown.Between the beams B B are placed the shovelbeams O O, which extendrearward sufficiently far to receive the shovel-standards D D, and maybe'carried forward also and be united to form the pole. If desired,however, the pole may be formed of separate pieces united to the beamsC, or it may consist of a single piece apart. :The rear cross-bar, c','is provided with n handles c2, as shown, which are located upon oneside of the center. To the front cross-bar, c, is attached, by means ofa suitable bolt, the draft-bar E, which has at both ends irons e ewithholes e. The cross-beams B B, with the shovel-beams C C andcross-bars c c', constitute ya rigid frame-work, which has a verticalmovement upon the standards c of the wheels A. lo adjust this frame-workat will, I provide on each side alcver, F, which has its fulcrum in theclevis-shaped standard f. This standard rises from. the journal of thecasterwheel and extends above the periphery of the latter sufficientlyfar to permit the fulcrum of the lever to be adjusted vertically atwill. To enable this adjustment to be accomplished, the standard, abovethe periphery ofv the wheel, has its sides parallel with each other,with j ust sufficient space between them to permit the passage of thelever. Suitable holes are provided in each side, and the pin upon whichthelever rests is moved at will to any desired set of holes. The end ofthe short arm of thelever is provided with an orifice through whichpasses the standard c of wheels A.

G represents a washer encircling the standard c,'which rests upon thelever F, as shown. This washer is made rounding upon its lower side, sothat when the lever is used the liftingpower is exerted as near thecenter as possible, and thus all tendency to bind is prevented. By theoperation of the lever F the beams B are elevated or depressed. Toretain them in any desired position, I employ the spring-stop devicesshown, which may be placed above or below the levers at will. Hrepresents a stop, to which is connected, by means of the rodh, thehandle h.- h2 represents a spring. The stop H may be sprung either intosuitable holesin the standard, Aas shown in Fini. l, or

into the sockets of a rack-bar, as shown in Fig. 3. rIhe latter methodis believed to be preferable. The rack-bar may be attached to thestandard in any suitable manner, and may or may not pass up through thelever, as

` shown in the drawings.

A modification of my lifting devices is shown in Fig. 4.

l I represents the supporting-wheel, which is connected to the frame bymeans of the bar i, the upper ends of which are attached to the pins tin such manner as to permit a swinging movement.

J represents the lever, which is connected to the wheel I by means ofthe standard j, in which it may be adjusted in the manner hereinbeforedescribed.

K represents a rack-bar, the front end of which is secured by the pini', and the rear end curved in such manner as to be convenient to thelever J. The latter is provided with suitable stop devices, by the useof which, in connection with the rack-bar, its position is regulated atwill. By the movement of the lever J the bar t' is moved nearer to orfarther from the line of the perpendicular, and consequently the frameis elevated or depressed, as the case may be.

The manner of attaching the shovel-standards to the beams will now bedescribed.

D represents standards of much the usual construction, which have theshovels m. N N represent rings provided with the bearing-surfaces a n,bolts a a', and orifices a2 a, which are secured to the beams G C atsuitable points by means of nuts, as shown. Through these rings projectthe upper ends of the standards D.

a3 represents a set-screw, which is inserted into the orifice n2, (thelatter being suitably threaded for that purpose,) which serves to retainthe standard rmly in place.

The braces O are attached to the standards in the following manner: orepresents a slotted socket, in which the lower end of the brace rests,and to which it is secured by means of a wooden pin, which passesthrough both brace and socket, as shown. The socket is provided with aneye, o', in which is caught a hookbolt, o, the bolt end of which passesthrough the standard, and is secured by a nut, as shown.

The operation of my machine is as follows: In moving to the field theentire frame is elevated by means of the levers, so that the shovels areclear of the ground. The levers themselves -may be connected to the rearshovelstandards by means of hooks caught into staples, as shown. Thisarrangement is not absolutely necessary, excepting when the machine isbackward. Ordinarily the levers are detached from the standards and thehooks caught into staples on the sides of the levers, as shown. hen theeld is reached, the

frame is adjusted on the yoke-standards by `the levers at such height aswill permit the shovels to penetrate to the proper depth. The

machine is now ready for motion. As it moves across the eld, theoperator walks behind and moves the machine to either side by means ofthe handles at the rear, or by taking hold of the rear end of themachine. It will readily be observed that a slight movement of the rearend of the machine will cause the wheels to turn or swivel and carry themachine in that direction, thereby assisting the operator in the lateralmovement of the machine. With this machine, therefore, the most crookedrows of corn can be cultivated with great precision and ease. Theshovels can be easily and quickly adjusted to throw earth to or from therows by simply loosening the set-screw in the ring. The fastening whichconnects the standard to the brace is such as to permit an easy swingingmovement when it is desired to turn the standard, and such, also, aswill easily give way when a serious obstruction is met with, and permitthe connection to be quickly made again when the obstacle is passed.When the pin in the brace does give way, the bearingsurface a of thering N permits the easy movement of the standard without strain upon anyof the parts. t

rlhe construction of the frame is peculiar and desirable. It is formedof few parts, but these are all rigidly connected, so that the requisitestrength is obtained. The shovel-beams may be brought together orseparated, in order to lessen or increase the distance between theshovels, as may be desired. The line of draft may be lowered or raisedby simply attaching the team to the irons of the draft-bar at a lower orhigher point, as may be desired.

rllhe construction of the entire machine is such that the ground can beclearly seen by the operator, and the necessary movements quickly andeasily made.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is-

1. The combination of caster-wheels with a rigid frame having verticalmovement, substantially as described.

2. The combination of a cultivator frame having vertical movement with alever, when said frame is adj usted vertically by said lever,substantially as and for the purpose described.

3. The combination of a frame resting upon wheels attached by swingingbars with levers, when said levers operate to raise or depress theframe, substantially as described.

4. The cultivator-frame described, consisting of the cross-beams B B,shovel-beams C C, and cross-bars c c', when arranged for adjustmentsubstantially as described, for the purpose set forth.

5. The adjustable standard f, in combination with the levers F andwheels A, as and for the purpose described.

6. The levers F, with spring stop devices described, in combination withthe standard f and yoke-standard a', substantially as described.

The Washer G, when constructed as described, and used in connection Withthe 1evers F and the frame, as and for the purpose This specificationsigned and witnessed this 21st day of August, 1869.

JAMES B. sKINNEE.

Witnesses G. W. FORD, H. WV. CARPENTER.

